Campaign: Stand for the dead

Stand Canada was founded in 2005 as a student advocacy group with the objective of raising awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

In 2009, JWT Ethos Toronto worked pro bono to help it engage Canadians to intensify the pressure on the Canadian government to end the crisis in Darfur, and prevent future genocides.

For many, the sheer scale of the conflict in Darfur makes it hard to grasp and take action, so the agency created a campaign that made the issue more personal by telling individual stories of true victims of the conflict.

The print work showed haunting images of men, women and children from Darfur who appear to be looking back at us from the grave. Newspaper ads told the story from the point of view of the victims. Both invited people to visit the website, www.standforthedead.com to purchase a sponsor package. Each package contains a t-shirt with the name of a person killed in Darfur. The user can then go back to the website where they can find out more about that individual and continue their involvement with the cause.

The pro bono campaign, worth $100,000, triggered support across Canada with thousands of people wearing the t-shirts, writing articles, posting blogs online, and even organising a benefit concert. In 2009, a team led by Stand Canada travelled to Darfur with a group of aid workers and two members of Canada’s Parliament to meet the displaced people of Western Sudan.

Kayla Simms, deputy director of STAND Canada, said the campaign “forced us to face the crisis of genocide on a personal level and approach the situation with a different perspective”.